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Premium Pricing Increased For Second Consecutive Quarter, According to CIAB Market Survey

Targeted News Service (Press Releases)

WASHINGTON, May 11 -- The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers issued the following news release:

Premium pricing for commercial property/casualty lines experienced slight increases during Q1 2018, according to The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers' Commercial Property/Casualty Market Index Survey. Average premiums across all sized accounts increased by 1.7 percent, compared to a 0.3 percent increase in Q4 2017. This marks the second consecutive quarter of increased premiums, following three years of soft market conditions.

"While we find ourselves in the beginning of a transitional market, carriers continued to be aggressive on new business due to excess and alternative capital in the market," said Ken A. Crerar, President/CEO of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.

All lines of business experienced some increase in premium pricing, with the exception of Workers' Compensation, which saw a -2.0 percent decrease. The average increase across all lines of business was 2.2 percent, compared to 1.7 percent in Q4 2017.

Despite weathering the historic 2017 natural catastrophe season, the market remained stable due to excess risk transfer capacity from both traditional and nontraditional capital, resulting in aggressive underwriting, excess capacity and competitive pricing in the market.

According to respondents, the demand for cyber insurance is greater than any other line of business. Seventy-three (73) percent of respondents reported a "somewhat" or "significant" increase in demand for cyber coverage.